Former NBA player admits drug crime

A former NBA player pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Alexandria to conspiracy to distribute drugs, including cocaine.

Donald J. Hodge, who played for the Dallas Mavericks in the 1990s, admitted he was involved in the conspiracy from April 2010 though about January, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Law enforcement authorities said they began investigating Hodge and others in July 2009, conducting surveillance, listening in on wiretaps and seizing drugs. Prosecutors said in court papers that drugs were stored at Hodge’s condo in the unit block of Kennedy Street NW.

When authorities in January asked Hodge if he participated in drug trafficking activities, Hodge answered, “I leave out the situation,”according to an affidavit written by a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hodge said he and a friend are “recreational users of marijuana and that they smoke the drug in [his] residence.”

Authorities said Hodge and his alleged conspirators spoke in code about dealing drugs. When authorities searched Hodge’s condo in December they found a zip lock containing cocaine, a .380 caliber handgun and a pouch of ammunition, court papers say.